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Kanye West is about to release an album that has recieved a lot of hate. Not only is it unconventional for Hip-Hop, but it’s unconventional for him as an artist. Say what you will about Auto-Tune, or attitude, Kanye West is about to change the game and open the doors to something both refreshing and necessary. Check out my review of the album after the jump.

Most of us consider it luck when we’re able to say we’ve been in a relationship for six years; even more so when said relationships result in engagement. But what do we call it when engagements are broken and love is lost? Kanye West has never been one to hide his emotions. Be it public outrage or lavish celebration, the cards are always on the table when it comes to ‘Ye; something he makes clear in his music. It should come as no surprise then, when Kanye West’s engagement to Alexis Phipher met its demise in April of this year, there would be some kind of emotional backlash. Fortunately for us, Kanye poured his heart and soul into a project that, while paradigmatically different, ended up unquestionably pleasurable. 808’s & Heartbreak is Kanye West’s pop debut, an album unconventional, unrelenting, and unbelievable.

Kanye’s public image is in tatters. Even those who love Kanye West hate Kanye West. Whether it’s his ego or his emotions, they are overstated and in most cases annoying. But, Kanye doesn’t care. Should we be surprised at all then, his new album would be so dramatic? In the past ‘Ye’s lyrics have almost always been about either his ideas of success and fame (‘Breath In, Breath Out’), or his full embracement of it (‘Good Life’). But then he had nothing to complain about. His breakup has clearly hit him hard, and rather than take it to the press, Kanye’s put it to record. 808’s & Heartbreak is littered with lyrics putting his emotions on the table. From the start of the record, “I wish this song would really come true, I admit I still fantasize about you” (‘Say You Will’) to the end “Tell everybody that you know, that I don’t love you no more” (See You In My Nightmares). Add to that the loss of his mother (by botched plastic surgery no less) and it becomes painfully, not annoyingly, clear that Kanye West has one true desire left in his life, “to be a real boy”. 808’s & Heartbreak is West’s reaction to loss. Fame can be crippling, and with everything around him falling apart, he’s chosen to be true to himself. “It took a lot of devastation for me to make, but everything has come from my hell” West told NewsOfTheWorld.com. He continued, “But I have to look at life with hope and love now. From here on out, I’ll do exactly what I want to do”.

Just what is it that Kanye West wants to do? Kanye, on B.E.T.’s Hip Hop Awards gave us our first hint, “We’re blessed to be in this man’s presence,” speaking about T-Pain, later referring to him as, “a genius”. This of course is the second time Kanye has called Pain a genius on television. Possibly in reaction to this T-Pain says, on his unreleased track ‘Silver & Gold’, “I ain’t a genius, but I made some genius shit.” One of these genius things is the dreaded and undeniable reoccurrence of the Auto-Tune technology. Originally met with praise, the Auto-Tune is now something that even T-Pain says is “on its way out”. As usual though, Kanye doesn’t care. And why should he? Something so played out as the Auto-Tune can even come off as welcoming when put to good use. With 808’s & Hearbreak there isn’t a track that doesn’t have Auto-Tune (besides the terrific and telling album ender “Pinnochio Story”), and there isn’t a track that suffers for it either. West fully embraces his professed obsession for Phil Collins on a number of the tracks; most notably on album standout ‘Paranoid’, where crystal synths propel a bubbling beat that eventually reaches it’s boiling point and becomes the best pop song to be released in 2008. Similarly, ‘Heartless’ has a beat constructed with 808 drum machines and helped out with an incessant flute that sounds incredible and a sound unheard on any hip-hop song in recent memory.

Where the album falls short is in its collaborators. This, as we’ve learned, is Kanye’s album, so to have Lil’ Wayne making shit raps (literally) and Young Jeezy once again talking about food is only distracting and detrimental. It’s obviously just to gather fans of hip-hop who might otherwise have thought this an all-pop album. Even with this downside though, one that only affects two of twelve tracks, the songs convey Kanye’s ‘Amazing’ musicianship and lyrical skill, “I know I’m wrong. I’m a problem that will never be solved, and no matter what you’ll never take that from me: my reign is as far as the eye can see.” And as a result we’re left with an album that is terrific while telling, interpersonal while accessible; all the while both Kanye and consumer getting exactly what they want. Win – Win.   

Posted By David Hutchinson